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The United FC U-12 girls soccer team is embarking on an inaugural goodwill tour and at the same time gaining some valuable experience in England.

The girls are playing a series of games against teams from Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, among others. They will be playing a game at the newly built Olympic Park.

One of the stops on the 10-day tour will be watching the Community Shield game at historic Wembley Stadium between Manchester United and Arsenal. Proceeds from the game are distributed to community-based initiatives and charities around the country.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for this group of young ladies,” said Ian Fairbrother, United FC coach. “They will not only have a rich cultural experience in playing and watching the sport they love in the home of soccer, but will also socialize and create new friendships and understanding that they can take away with them. It will be an enriching experience for their own lives and that of their community.”

The team has in part earned money for the trip via fundraising activities.

Mallon in tourney

Former Birmingham resident and Farmington Hills Our Lady of Mercy High School graduate Meg Mallon is scheduled to participate in the Turning Point Invitational, set for Aug. 25 at the historic Country Club of Detroit.

Mallon is one of more than 20 LPGA players slated to play in the tourney, which hopes to raise $1,000,000 to help Detroit children attend the Nevada campus of Cornerstone Schools, ranked by Excellent Schools as the No. 1 school in the city of Detroit.

The tournament is hosted by the Turning Point Scholarship Fund, the Cornerstone Schools and the LPGA.

The LPGA golfers playing in the invitational represent two World Golf Hall of Fame members; three Solheim Cup captains; six Solheim Cup team members; three U.S. Amateur champions; seven victors in an LPGA major; and winners of 162 LPGA tournaments.

Pistons camp

The Detroit Pistons Academy youth premier basketball camps still has one session available.

The premier basketball camps is slated for Aug. 18-22 at Bloomfield Hills Cross of Christ Church gymnasium in Bloomfield Hills. The premier camps are geared toward fundamental basketball skills for boys and girls entering grades 3-9.

For information, go to www.pistonsacademy.com or call 248-377-8653.

Ready, Set, Maccabi!

The 2014 Maccabi Games are ready to go.

For the fifth time in its history, the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit will host the games, which run Aug. 17-21. In conjunction with the Maccabi Games, the JCC also will host ArtsFest for the first time.

More than 2,000 participants, their families and coaches are expected to attend the Games and ArtsFest, which is the largest gathering of Jewish teens in the world. The Games will be chaired by Rick Zussman and Karen Gordon, with Florine Mark and Joel Jacob serving as honorary chairs.

For dates and times, contact www.2014Detroit.org or Franci Silver at soccercoach@gmail.com or 248-505-9007.

MIHL Showcase

The 2015 Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League’s annual Prep Hockey Showcase will be held Feb. 12-14 at the Kennedy Ice Arena in Trenton.

Birmingham Brother Rice, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Detroit Country Day are the three Eccentric-area squads slated to participate in the popular 42-team tournament, which has been played for the past 15 years. Three new teams will be making their debuts and four teams will return after an absence of a few years.

The event is designed to showcase teams and individual player talents to various college, junior and professional scouts. Each team is guaranteed to play two games. Schedules will be completed in January to help ensure competitive match-ups.

“The selection process is getting more challenging every year as the level of play in Michigan high school hockey advances,” said Todd Johnson, Selection Committee chairman. “In order to attract the scouting community, which is essential to meeting one of the objectives, we need quality teams and high skill level players participating in the Showcase. These new teams provide that element along with adding to the strong competition and good sportsmanship which are the hallmarks of the Showcase.”

Prep Kickoff Classic

Southfield and Birmingham Brother Rice again will be part of the Prep Kickoff Classic, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

The three-day prep gridiron spectacle, slated for Aug. 28-30 at Tom Adams Field on the Wayne State University campus, includes 16 teams and eight games.

Brother Rice, with first-year head coach David Sofran, plays Chicago Brother Rice at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30. The Warriors went undefeated with a school-record 14 wins en route to the Division 2 state title last year in Al Fracassa’s final season as head coach.

Last year’s Prep Kickoff Classic featured 77 players who eventually signed national letters of intent with NCAA Division I, II and III schools, plus NAIA schools. It was formerly known as the Big Day Prep Showdown.

Advanced tickets are $9 each, with tickets at the gate $10. A portion of the proceeds from advance ticket sales benefits the participating schools.

Call in prep results

The Eccentric is interested in publishing your high school sports results. Coaches or designated associates are asked to report their scores on our night line service at 586-977-7569. Simply wait for the prompts and report game or match results with as much detail as possible. Please include records, location of game/match and spell names, when necessary. The two other ways to report results are: fax information to 586-826-7035 or email to mbudner@hometown life.com. Sports Editor Marty Budner can be reached at 586-826-7277.